Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Tried an experiment today.. Turn out was fairly lucrative, I’d say. Further rifts can be made off of this one. Pork plays extraordinarily well with many fruits, especially red and tropical fruits. If you don’t fancy the idea of using beer, you can always use juice and jams/marmalades instead. Figure those ones out by internet searching and trial and error. This is my satisfying reward born of curiosity..

Blackberry Ale Glazed Pork Loin

2-3 # Pork LoinOlive Oil1 Bag Frozen Blackberries1 Bottle Ale (I used Sam Ad’s Blackberry Witbier (whitebeer) here)1 c. Brown Sugar** And after talking with one of the souschefs @ work, a tablespoon or two of light vinegar would be the extra oomph I think this dish was lacking - although it was good enough as is. Needs a little acid to stretch the flavors out

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. 2. In a large saucepan, combine blackberries, ale and brown sugar over high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a rigorous simmer. Reduce this down for about 20 minutes.3. Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and set over high heat. Season pork loin with salt and pepper on all sides. Sear all 6 sides of pork loin in the sauté pan, approx 2 minutes each side. 4. Place seared pork loin in a roasting pan and pour the blackberry ale reduction over the loin. **Bake in the oven for approx. 18 minutes per pound. Baste the loin with the reduction liquid about every 20 minutes. 5. When loin is cooked to desired doneness, remove from pan and let rest on a cutting board for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, pour liquid from the pan into a saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce this mixture further as your loin rests. 6. Slice loin, pour reduced glaze over top and serve immediately.

**Some people prefer a loin that is more well done that it needs to be. A pork loin is safely done when it reaches an internal temp of around 150. You may choose to cook the meat a bit longer until it hits 160 but I don’t suggest going any higher than this. Pork loin is a lean meat, that dries out easily if you aren’t careful with it.

(There is a double batch here because I feed a crowd..)Btw, I just love how this picture came out ☺We’re goin’ in.. I served this with Scallion Spoonbread and a side salad of Spinach, Shredded Carrots and Heirloom Tomatoes

See mah tomatoes? Aren’t they booootiful?!?

And the super easy spoonbread I made tonight.. It was a little dry because I fear I overcooked it. It also needs the addition of maybe 2/3 c. half and half or light cream. And to anyone about to be horrified by my masterful use of jiffy cornbread mix..

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish2. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients til most of the lumps are gone. Add in shredded cheese or chopped scallions if you so wish. Pour into greased casserole dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes until firm (not jiggly anymore). Serve hot with butter.

Esto Es Me

Teh Basics of Moi

I'm a Full Time (former stay@home) Mom and Full Time Culinary Management Student who's taken on a Some Times cooking gig at a fancy schmancy country club.
These are the excerpts of my experiments and intrinsic research on foods I find interesting and have always wanted to know more about...
(Oh yeah, go to the bottom to turn off the music if you're not diggin' it)